Pests and insects can adversely affect the livableness, health and sanitation of areas in which humans live and work. Cockroaches in particular have become common household pests. Cockroaches can chew foodstuffs, clothing, paper, and even plastic insulation. Cockroaches can also produce allergenic reactions in humans and can emit a highly disagreeable odor. Thus, it is desirable to be able to eliminate cockroaches and other pests efficiently, inexpensively, and with no adverse effects to humans or pets.
Boric acid has been proven to be a common, effective pesticide which is safe and non-toxic to humans. The powdered boric acid works by attaching itself to the insect's body. The insect then ingests or licks the boric acid when cleaning itself. The boric acid particles also act to abrade the insect's outer body, causing the insect to dehydrate. Silica gel and boric acid containing pyrethin can also be used.
Dispensers are available which dispense powdered boric acid through a wand and into cracks and crevices. However, conventional dispensers of boric acid exhibit several operational disadvantages. Typically, they dispense too much pesticide, dispensing great quantities of pesticide and very little air. Some dispensers also dispense a large amount of pesticide alternated by blasts of air, rather than a controlled, uniform pesticide-air mixture. These conventional dispensers are consequently less effective, because they result in wasted pesticide and "piles" of pesticide which the insects avoid.
Another problem with conventional dispensers is that they do not segregate the boric acid by particle size and therefore they dispense relatively large particles. These oversized particles are too large to attach to the cockroach's or insect's body and are consequently ineffective and wasteful.
The dispensers currently available also sometimes get wet inside and are prone to plugging. This requires the operator to disassemble the dispenser, a procedure which is inconvenient and time consuming.